Almost two weeks after watchOS 5 came out, Apple has pushed out its first update for the operating system. WatchOS 5.0.1 doesn't bring any new features to Apple Watches, but it does fix a few problems surrounding exercise minutes, stand credit, and charging that some users may have experienced since upgrading their Watch's software.
In watchOS 5, a "small number of users" reported seeing an unwarranted increase in exercise minutes, presumably in their exercise rings in the Activity app. According to some users online, they saw their green exercise ring fill up very quickly throughout the course of the day despite the amount of time they spent exercising or tracking workouts. Inversely, some users didn't receive Stand credit in the afternoons, meaning the Watch either didn't recognize or didn't record when users stood up for half of the day.
The third and final problem addressed in watchOS 5.0.1 is one that prevented Apple Watches from charging. Apple doesn't provide details about when or why this may have happened, but it's a serious issue that the company likely wanted to address before it affected too many users.
Some users online have reported that they were unable to charge their Watches while running watchOS 5, but a reset fixed the problem. Others who claim their Watches were charging too slowly or not fully have seen more normal charging times after updating to watchOS 5.0.1.
Apple released watchOS 5 on September 17, ahead of the official release date of the Apple Watch Series 4. Available to all Watches except for the Series 0, watchOS 5 brings new features to Apple's wearables including Walkie Talkie, automatic exercise detection and ending, Siri Shortcut support, and more. On the new Series 4 Watches, watchOS 5 also includes fall detection support and will soon include Apple's ECG app for detecting health issues associated with irregular heart rates, such as atrial fibrillation.Users can download watchOS 5.0.1 by navigating to General > Software Update in the Watch app on their iPhone. Apple Watches must be connected to their chargers and have at least 50 percent battery to download the update.
Here are the full release notes:
This update contains improvements and bug fixes, including:
- Fixes an issue that caused a small number of users to see an increase in exercise minutes
- Addresses an issue that caused some users to not receive Stand credit in the afternoon
- Fixes an issue that could prevent Apple Watch from charging
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